Magnets
by Sabrynth
Summary: Marceline and Princess Bubblegum's relationship is tumultuous at best, and they have been avoiding one another for a long time now - only after Finn's misadventures have they come back in contact with each other. But recently, Marceline finds herself drawn back to Bonnibel, and Bonnibel isn't so sure that she can resist getting attached to Marceline again.


_**[Magnets]**_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Adventure Time or its characters. Those belong to Pendleton Ward and Cartoon Network._

_Rating: M for Marceline_

* * *

Marceline sighed.

She was totally exasperated. The song that she'd been writing for _hours_ just wasn't flowing the right way and it was really ticking her off. The Vampire Queen ran through the first verses again, and again, and again, but that was as far as she got.

She set her axe bass down and levitated outside onto her porch.

The cave was full of bioluminescent algae this time of year, they floated in the water, giving it a blue glow.

She sighed again. Marceline was used to being alone, but for the past few months or so she had felt the pangs of solitude in her chest. She felt as empty as the cave she lived in.

Finn and Jake visited her less and less, not that she needed their affection or really desired it. She had lost interest in the boy-hero and his dog after they'd saved her from her dad's demon necklace in the Nightosphere. Besides, her dad actually liked Finn and that spoiled all the fun. She guessed that they were good friends to her, but she could only vest so much interest in people that were going to die one day.

Marceline had always had the awful habit of befriending mortals. She didn't know why she did it. But time after time, she attached herself to a person only to watch them die. She was over a thousand years old, but she still remembered all of them. Each time was painful, each friend was precious to her, and each time she fought herself from turning her friend into a vampire. She might've been the Vampire Queen, but there were certain rules that she just couldn't bend.

Marceline sighed for a third time.

She began moving, to where she didn't know, but she had to clear her head somehow.

• • •

Marceline ended up outside Bonnibel's bedroom. She floated there, over the railing of the balcony, waiting to see the princess. She wondered where she was, it wasn't like Marceline actually knew PB's routine or anything. She thought about letting herself in, but Vampire Rules told her to wait to be invited in.

After an immeasurable amount of time, Princess Bubblegum came to her bedroom. Marceline started from her bored stupor and tapped on the glass of the door. Bonnibel let out a surprised 'aah!' and turned towards the doors of her balcony.

"Marceline?" Her voice was tired.

"Good evening, Bonnibel." Marceline greeted, smirk already in place. She thought that the princess looked like a turbo-nerd with her lab coat and her round spectacles.

Bonnibel opened the doors.

They locked eyes and moments before either of them said anything. PB dropped her gaze from the Vampire Queen's and gestured for her to come inside.

"Marceline, what are you doing here?" The princess's voice sounded annoyed. Marceline's eyes crinkled at the sides as she laughed at Peebles' tone of voice.

"What, I can't see my second-favourite candy person whenever I feel like it?" Her nose twitched when she said this, she loved messing with the bubblegum princess.

"Second-favourite?" Bonnibel scoffed, incredulous. She crossed her pink arms, mouth curving into a small smile.

"Well, yeah," Marceline laughed. "Me, Peppermint Butler, and Death play poker on the weekends, what'd you expect?" Bonnibel rolled her eyes, not believing a word of it - even though they all had played poker together before.

"Seriously, though," PB said, tapping her foot on the ground with impatience. "Why are you here?"

"Ugh, you wound me, Bonnibel." Marceline floated over to Princess Bubblegum's bed and pantomimed being stabbed in the chest.

"I can't get the song I'm writing _out_, y'know, my brain's all noodled up. I need to clear my head." The Vampire Queen dropped onto the princess's bed with a flourish.

"You clear your head by annoying me?" PB deadpanned. She made an irritated noise as Marceline kicked off her boots and rolled around on her bed.

"You are making a total fool of yourself, you know." Bonnibel sighed. She walked over to her bed and sat down next to Marceline who was lying face down.

"Your bed is so so-o-oft." She exclaimed, her voice muffled by the comforter.

"Yeah, _my _bed is soft." Marceline smiled although Bonnibel couldn't see it.

She really liked Bonnibel Bubblegum. She liked to tease her, because that's what Marceline did best. They used to be close, but one of them developed some _awkward_ feelings and they had drifted apart ever since. That's how she saw it anyway. But Finn had inadvertently brought them back together. The Vampire Queen wondered if Bonnibel still felt the way she did back then. She doubted that she even remembered it, honestly. It was easy to forget about since nothing _really_ happened.

"So are you going to leave, or do I really have to spend tonight next to a bloodthirsty vampire?" PB droned, bringing Marceline out of her thoughts. The Vampire Queen flopped on the bed in response. She was doing her best impression of a carp and she was sure PB would be impressed. After some vehement thrashing - Bubblegum couldn't stop laughing at the sight of it - she noticed that her head wasn't on the bed anymore. Her head had ended up on Bonnibel's lap. Face down. Oops, she said to herself.

Princess Bubblegum's face burned and Marceline snickered, pushing herself up, she winced as their heads collided.

"Ow! Jeez, ya donk, did you have to headbutt my chin?" Bonnibel spat, rubbing the damaged area.

"Your chin wasn't the only casualty, _Bonnibel._" She said rubbing the back of her head. They locked eyes for the second time that evening. They were both making ugly, in-pain faces. Marceline stuck her tongue out at the princess and PB blew a raspberry in response.

Marceline smiled at Bonnibel before bursting into a laughing fit. PB gave a few laughs herself. But not because she thought Marceline was charming. Not at all.

• • •

In the morning, Bonnibel realized, with a good degree of embarrassment, that she _did _spend the night next to a bloodthirsty vampire.

She mentally chastised herself and got out of bed. Unlike Marceline, she actually had a kingdom to attend to. She gave a long look at the sleeping vampire. She looked peaceful and not annoying when she was asleep. She noticed the rays of sunlight cast from her windows and onto her carpet that were creeping towards her bed, towards Marceline. Without a second thought, she closed the curtains on her windows and headed out.

Hours later, when it was past dark, Bonnibel headed back to her room.

Marceline was gone.

Bonnibel sighed.

She hadn't expected her to stay, not really. She never stayed. Bonnibel had learned this a long time ago. Marceline was flakey and said she didn't like to get attached and a host of other preposterous, hurtful things, but she was used to it. All Marceline could do was steal your heart and write stupid love songs for you, she couldn't commit to you as a person or as a lover or whatever - she did whatever she wanted to and it only ever mattered if _Marceline_ got hurt.

Bonnibel knew this, in a way she had always known, even before she learned it the hard way. She had closed her heart off from Marceline. Even as a friend. Especially as a friend. If they were friends, Marceline would weasel her way back into her heart. And she would not be having that. She had a kingdom to run.

The words that she had once told Finn swirled around her head. _Sometimes you want someone and you want to kiss them and be with them, but you can't because responsibility demands sacrifice. _What Finn didn't know was that she had been talking about Marceline that day. Finn's feelings for her often reminded her of her tumultuous relationship with the Vampire Queen.

Bonnibel sighed again as she turned off the lights in her room and went to sleep. Or tried to.

Marceline walked around her head all night. And what she didn't know, was that she was walking around Marceline's head, too.

• • •

"Ugh, this is re_donks_!" Marceline groaned, plopping her head onto her desk. A few days ago she had gone to visit Peebles because she couldn't get the song she was writing to actually _be_ a song and now she couldn't stop thinking about the brain-lord. It didn't help that she kind of, maybe, probably spent the night with her. She definitely did not spend a good chunk of that night watching her sleep, though, because that would've been weird.

She levitated over to her bed; even though it was early/late, she decided to go to bed - she was done with this day.

So, Marceline The Vampire Queen tried to go to sleep.

And tried.

And tried.

And rolled over onto her left side.

And tried to sleep some more.

But she kept thinking about Bonnibel Bubblegum. All she wanted to do was to go to sleep and write that song in the morning. It was driving her insane. With a scream of frustration she got her axe bass and began to strum the chords with anger. She usually wasn't so rough on her precious instrument, but these were desperate times.

Thinking of Bonnibel, she belted out some lyrics and strummed the chord pattern for the song that she'd been working on. She switched the words up and changed them, deciding that what she was singing now was the chorus. She repeated them again and again after she found the combination that she liked. Marceline chanted them in a whisper while she set up her recorder, careful not to forget them. For her, there was no greater feeling in the world than putting her feelings into a song.

She felt accomplished. Great. Super. Thanks for asking. Adrenaline pumped through her, or she felt like it did, at least. She sucked the red out of all the apples in her house. She screamed the lyrics to her new song. She flew (she felt as though it deserved to be called flying) all the way to the Candy Kingdom because Bonnie was the first person who came to mind, she was the person that Marceline always wanted to share good news with.

Marceline looked into her room, sure enough, Peebs was there.

She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Oh, Bonnibel~!" She yelled.

Princess Bubblegum jumped and clutched a hand to her chest, turning just in time as Marceline landed in front of her, smiling from pointy ear to pointy ear.

She smacked the Vampire Queen. "What do you think you're doing?! Don't think I won't call the Banana Guards!" She threatened, already pissed off by Marceline's presence. She really didn't like to be disturbed. Bubblegum had always been a solitary person and she valued her alone time. Marceline clearly didn't.

"I wrote the song!" She hopped in place in excitement as she said it. Peebles gave her a look.

"You write lots of songs, Marcy." PB pointed out in an exasperated tone as she rubbed her forehead in annoyance.

"No, the song I was telling you about the other day! The one that was gronkin' up my brainflow!" Marceline wasn't letting Bonnibel's obvious lack-of-caring ruin her good mood.

Princess Bubblegum ground her teeth together. "Look. Marceline. It's great that you wrote a song, but. I. Don't. _Care_. You write lots of songs and none of them mean _anything_." She felt her face heating up as years of being reserved about her feelings were unleashed. "Nothing that you say or do is genuine, Marceline. We broke up because _you_ thought you weren't getting enough attention!" She jabbed her finger at Marceline's sternum.

"Unlike you, I have a kingdom to run and actual responsibilities, so I'm sorry if I can't babysit you all the time or, or care about your dumb songs! I just… ugh." She threw her hands up in the air. Except she really _did_ care. Marceline's face was blank, but her chest ached. She didn't wanna think about their relationship. Past or present.

"I'm just your problem, aren't I, Bonnie! You know that song I sang when we were trying to find our missing junk? I wrote that when we were dating, and," Marceline felt tears forming in her eyes, but she would not let herself cry in front of Bubblegum. Rage and hurt boiled inside her. She screamed and felt herself change into her beast form.

Princess Bubblegum didn't look the least bit scared. Marceline had done this before, the vampire just couldn't handle strong emotions.

"I've never been good enough for you!" She screamed, her form was much too big for PB's room. She screeched and swung her arms wildly, breaking furniture and ripping sheets.

"Marcy, calm down! She ducked as Marceline continued to throw things and scream. She began to run towards her, and glommed onto her middle. Marceline screamed again, but it sounded more like a sob.

"It's okay, shhh, Marcy. I'm sorry." Bonnibel yelled over the cacophony of Marceline's tantrum. She threw Bubblegums wardrobe against the wall and it splintered into huge chunks of wood and debris. She tried to shake Bubblegum off, but the princess' grip was too tight. Plus, she was made of gum, duh. Marceline grabbed Bonnibel and chucked her against her bed. She landed on top of the bed but rolled off from the momentum.

She saw the old band t-shirt that she'd given Bonnie a long, long time ago. Her chest and throat were thick with emotion and she sank to her knees.

Marceline felt Bonnibel wrap her arms around her again and she stiffened. Gradually, her form returned to normal, with Bonnibel still hugging her around her middle. Marceline wasn't crying, but her eyes were red. They ended up lying together on the floor, Bonnie's arms still wound tight around her vampire companion.

Bonnibel felt guilt wash over her. She shouldn't have said those things, and she told Marceline so.

"I miss you, Bonnie, okay?" Marceline looked away, not wanting to see the other girl's reaction.

"I miss you, too."

Their relationship had always been sort of manic. They would fight, and it would get intense enough for Marceline to change her form and break things, but they always made up. At least they did in that moment. There was no telling how they would feel a few days after a fight. Or even a few years. Bonnibel knew this. She knew so many things that should have told her that a relationship with the Vampire Queen wasn't healthy. But something always drew her back in. She never knew what it was. Maybe it was because they had both lived for so long, or because they were opposites, or maybe there was something in their intercellular matrix that drew them to each other. Whatever it was, Bonnibel wished that she had magnets that strong.

* * *

**_A/N: _**_Hey, guys, it's me, Sabrynth! After taking a horrendously long hiatus from writing, I have finally come up with I fic that I deem okay of posting! Yay! After I canceled [Malapropos] (sad, I know, I have plans to rewrite and continue it, **maybe**) I didn't write for a loonnngg time. But after I heard that one of people who are on the AT crew said that PBubs and Marcy had dated at one point in time, I was inspired to write this fic! I really hope you like it, because if you do, I have plans to continue it! I have some scenes laid out already and other junk like that. And with your lovely support, I will continue this fic! _

_Anyway, if you like it and want it to continue, review! If you have criticism, review! If you want to flame it, review!_

_As always, thanks for reading._

_-Sabrynth_


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